Distortion
by LoftHeart
Summary: Naoto gets hired to solve a murder that is strikingly similar to Adachi's methods. The case leads to the Investigation Team getting together once more and it seems it is easy to fall back into old habits. Part 2 of "Skyscrapers"
1. I Hiatus

**I. Hiatus**

"Babe, wake up." Rise says softly, her hand resting on top of the blanket covering Naoto's back. Naoto turns around grumbling.

"Five more minutes."

She's answered with a soft giggle and rolls back around to face Rise. Her eyes go wide when she sees that her girlfriend is already dressed. She sits up and squints at the alarm clock sitting on the table behind her.

"Did I oversleep?" Her voice is still thick with sleep and the sudden loud exclamation causes it to go up a pitch on the last syllable. Rise giggles louder now and she sits down next to Naoto.

"I turned the alarm off after you fell asleep last night."

"I was going to wake up early. I was going to make you breakfast in bed. I was-"

"You were exhausted, Naoto. You need rest." Rise interrupts Naoto's stream of conscious mumbling.

"I'll sleep after you're gone." Naoto says. She's still mad at herself for wasting precious time sleeping. It helps that Rise leans into her then, giving her a kiss that dispels the rest of her sleepiness.

"How long before we have to leave?" She asks when Rise finally pulls back a bit.

Rise looks back at the clock and Naoto watches how her eyebrows bunch up as she counts out the time.

"One hour and eleven minutes."

Naoto throws back the blankets resolutely.

"Okay. I can still make you some breakfast then." She lifts herself off the mattress and starts for the door but Rise grabs hold of her wrist.

"I'm kinda more interested in the 'in bed' part of 'breakfast in bed'." She says with a suggestive wiggle of her eyebrows that simultaneously causes Naoto to scoff and turns her ears bright red. Thankfully Rise doesn't wait for her to fumble through a response before pulling her down on the bed. 

It had been eight months since they got back together and even though life had gotten a lot safer, it hadn't been less hectic.

Being the sole survivor of a mad director's murder spree had caused Rise's already considerable fame to triple overnight. Naoto had gained some unwanted notoriety in the media as well. It hadn't made her work as a detective any easier. The constant phone calls and offers for interviews had been one thing, but the steady stream of paparazzi that now congregated outside of Naoto's apartment building had been enough for her to announce a hiatus. The first one in her entire career.

It hadn't really been a hiatus, off course. After taking the train to Inaba and unpacking their bags in the Shirogane estate just outside of town, Naoto had started working on cases as soon as she got the wifi to function. 

They'd spent the next two months in a comfortable rhythm. Naoto would talk to whichever police detective needed her help that day on Skype in the mornings. Rise would sleep in, explore the mansion, smile at remnants of a younger Naoto, or write songs. In the afternoon they'd walk through the town, visit Rise's grandma and other old acquaintances or just sit by the river.

Naoto watched as Rise slowly grew back into her old, confident self.

Naoto caught herself thinking she might be okay if they stayed like that a little longer, frozen in this idyllic life, but she could never quite grant herself that luxury. 

A simple missing person case had led her to the discovery of a human trafficking ring and soon she was getting phone calls from the CIA asking for her help.

The hiatus was over and they moved back to the city, this time unpacking in a new apartment that was large enough for two. 

It was the biggest case Naoto had worked on in her life. Her already bad sleeping habits had gone out of the window completely after the first month of the investigation. Rise would find her sleeping with her face on her files at the oddest hours and tried not to wake her up as she carried her to bed. It never worked.

Rise had started acting again. She spent the first two months doing a theatre piece that had her working more regular hours than she was used to.

They ate breakfast and dinner together every day, though dinner would often be later than planned. 

After the run of the play ended, Rise finally took the plunge to start working on movies again. She'd gotten an offer to play the best friend in a British romantic comedy partly set in Japan. Rise joked that the chances of the story about two rivalling tennis players who fall in love turning a director into a murdering maniac were rather small. Naoto had done the best to make sure that the sudden punch of worry in her gut didn't also show on her face.

The first part of the movie would be shot in Japan over three months. The final part took place in London. It would be the first time they were apart since they caught Hide. That feeling of worry was becoming familiar to Naoto, but she managed to not let it distract her enough to finish her own investigation.

Everything seemed to come to a climax in the week before Rise left for London. 

Naoto had made the final push in her case that made it all come together. She'd not only identified each of the ringleaders, but managed to give the CIA a location for every single one of them.

She had insisted on being part of the team that went after the one located in her city. She had even been the first through the door; the one to put the handcuffs on him. When she got home that day, she only recognised the look on Rise's face because it was the same worry she had been feeling for weeks.

The case had been an unexpected boost for her career. She was finishing up all the loose ends, making sure all the girls could get back to their families as soon as possible. 

The phone call had come the day before Rise had to leave. Naoto's contact at the CIA offered her a permanent position at the agency. A prestigious position at that. She'd earn quite a bit more than she did now, and working for an agency would give her a lot more certainties. It would also completely strip her of all the freedom she currently had as a private investigator. With her girlfriend being an international movie star, she wasn't sure if it was smart to give up on that freedom.

She'd made an endless pro and con list in her head while she worked on the last files in the case. Rise's insistence that she'd be fine with whatever choice Naoto landed on did not make it any easier for her to stop analysing every option. It had kept her up far later than she had planned on. 

"Did you decide yet?" Rise asks between two bites of the croissant that Naoto had insisted she'd eat in the car after skipping breakfast.

Naoto fights the urge to roll her eyes, gaze fixed firmly on the road before her.

"You'd know if I did."

"I'm sure the CIA would be fine with you moving abroad if you ask them."

Naoto murmurs in agreement as she steers her car onto the exit.

"Besides," Rise continues, "It's not like I even have to move. I'm getting plenty of offers. We could probably stay in the city forever, there's a lot of projects there."

"You should pick projects because you want to do them, not because they are geographically convenient." Naoto rolls to a stop in front of a red light. Rise tears a piece off of her pastry and offers it to Naoto.

"You should too." She smiles triumphantly, as if the conversation had been a contest that she just won.

"If I worked for the CIA, I wouldn't get to choose my own cases."

Rise's smile drops. Naoto can see her mind racing as fast as her own.

"What would you do, if you were me?" Naoto finally asks.

"I-" Rise gets cut off by the sound of a car honking behind them. Naoto startles and quickly gets the car moving again. They sit in silence until she pulls up to the airport, finding a parking spot.

They finally come to a stop then, Naoto pausing before taking her hands of the steering wheel.

"I don't know." Rise answers. 

Naoto is surprised that the feeling of worry isn't there when she hugs Rise one last time. When Rise presses a long kiss against her lips. When she wipes away the tear on Rise's face. When they both say "I'll miss you."

It was just a month. She'd be okay.

It would give her time to decide.

She watches Rise go through the gate before heading back to her car when her cellphone rings.

"Shirogane speaking."

"Naoto. Matsuura here." If she hadn't seen his name on the screen she would have hardly believed it was him. She'd only hear the police detective sound this serious once before.

"I've got a case for you, if you want it."

"I'm not sure if I have time for another case right now, Matsuura."

"Yes. I've heard of your work with the CIA. Impressive. I just thought you might be interested in this case it's…" Matsuura trails off. Naoto isn't used to the detective being at a loss for words.

"What kind of case is it?"

"It's a murder. It's just that the specifics are a bit… unusual."

"Unusual in what way?"

"I'll send you the info right now. I just thought you should hear it from me first."

He is quiet for a few beats.

"The specifics of this murder seem to be an exact match to the methods of Adachi Tohru."


	2. II Déjà Vu

**II. Déjà Vu**

Naoto is sitting in the back of a train speeding towards Inaba, alternating between long looks out of the window and writing down everything she can remember about the case she and her friends helped solve eight years ago.

It was always sort of bittersweet to return to Inaba. Some of the best moments of her life had happened there, but it had still all started with an awful murder.

It didn't help that so many of her friends still lived here to this day, and if someone was looking at Adachi for inspiration, they may very well be in danger.

A young teenager walks past her to reach the bathroom. He sort of looks like Yu, she notes. Or maybe she just has the old Investigation Team on her mind.

She leafs through the pages of her notebook until she reaches the hastily written details of the new case that Matsuura had been able to share with her over the phone.

 _Name victim: Nishihara Asako_

 _Age 15_

 _Student_

 _No leads_

 _Possible copycat killer_

It was not much to go on yet, but the Inaba police department had made a request to work together with her specifically. She was, after all, an expert on Adachi.

The train rolls to a halt and Naoto quickly gathers up all of her notes and stuffs them into her small messenger bag before getting the rest of her luggage.

The train isn't very busy and she's the last one to get off.

"NAOTO!"

It's lucky that she immediately recognises the voice yelling her name because not even a second later her vision is obscured by Chie's dark blonde hair as she holds her in a bearhug.

"Hi, Chie-san." Naoto's unable to move her arms in their current state but Chie doesn't seem to notice the lack of reciprocity.

"I've missed you so much."

"It's only been six months?"

Chie finally lets go of Naoto, rolling her eyes.

"Six months is a long time, weirdo."

"I suppose."

"Anyway, how have you been?" Chie is trying to take over Naoto's luggage. Naoto doesn't protest very long.

"Busy. Good, but… busy. And yourself?"

Chie's swung Naoto's bag over her right shoulder, almost knocking off her cap in the process. Chie had been a police officer for a few years now, but Naoto still had to suppress a giggle when she saw her in the uniform.

"I've been good too. Dojima is making sure I get good assignments but it's nothing as spectacular as your cases."

"Well, it's Inaba after all. Nothing ever happens here."

"Until it does."

The mood shifts and they both walk a bit more upright, remembering the task at hand. 

Twenty minutes later, after dropping off her luggage, Chie is leading Naoto past a curious crowd of onlookers and behind police tape. Asako Nishihara's body had been moved earlier that morning, but Naoto still wanted to see the crime scene first hand. Dojima Ryotaro is talking to another officer, he puts out his cigarette when he sees Naoto approach.

"Ah, detective Shirogane. Thank you for getting here so quickly."

"Of course."

She reaches out her hand and he shakes it. He looks just as serious as Naoto remembered. He doesn't waste any time making small talk as he starts pointing out details on the scene.

"She was found hanging from that antenna."

"The same one as with Yamano."

"Indeed."

"Any idea how they got her up there?"

"No. We're still looking. We did find one thing that didn't entirely line up with the Yamano-case, however."

He walks Naoto over to his car and takes a small evidence bag out of the glove compartment.

"We found this lying on the ground, close to the body."

"A charm?" Naoto asks as Dojima hands her the bag.

"It appears to be some kind of ema."

"Is it from the shrine?"

"No, all the ema from the shrine are made of wood. Not sure what this one's made off, but definitely not wood."

Naoto studies the small plaque closer. It is made from an off-white hard material. Enamel, maybe? There's a small picture of a nine-tailed fox on it, as well as the word 'gan'i', wish. Apart from the mysterious material it seemed to be a regular ema. And considering how close they were to the shrine…

"It might have been hers. Maybe she was on her way to the shrine?" Naoto offers.

"Maybe." The police officer Dojima had been talking with earlier rushes over to them. He and Dojima speak softly for a few moments as Naoto looks over the ema once more.

"Ah, I forgot to introduce you." Dojima exclaims. Naoto looks up at the young man.

"Detective Shirogane, I'd like you to meet my partner, Hamano Keitaro."

"The great detective Shirogane, I've heard so much about you."

"Hamano here might just give you a run for your money, Shirogane. He's only been with us for a year but managed to solve just about every case we've thrown at him."

Hamano seems embarrassed by the praise. He runs a hand through his hair and mutters something about none of the cases being very challenging.

"Good. I'm sure we'll be able to use your talents on this case, then." Naoto says with a small smile as she reaches out her hand. He shakes it, seeming glad that the moment is over.

"Right. Hamano and I are needed back at the station. Officer Satonaka can help you out here if you need her. And you're always welcome to call, of course."

"Thank you, Dojima." She hands him back the evidence bag and goes back to inspecting the crime scene.

The crime scene had been lacking any good leads to go further on. Naoto is making a mental checklist of her next steps: talk to the parents, the teachers, the friends. Chie is walking next to her, seemingly unaware that Naoto's not hearing a single word of her lengthy monologue. It's not until Chie asks "Don't you think?" that Naoto is aware that she had even been talking. She looks at Chie with wide eyes.

"You didn't hear a single word I just said, did you?" Chie says with a wide smile. Naoto feels her cheeks redden.

"I'm so sorry. I was… sorry. Could you please repeat that last part?" Chie laughs loudly and punches Naoto's arm softly.

"It's okay. You're probably thinking about the case, right? I should let you think instead of telling you about the dog."

"The dog? What dog?"

"Agimaru. The dog Yukiko got me?"

"You two got a dog? That's a big step."

Chie stops walking then and gives Naoto an affronted look.

"No ' _we_ ' didn't get a dog. _I_ got a dog. Yukiko got _me_ a dog."

"But you two live together?"

"Yeah, but still. It's _my_ dog. Yukiko just lives with us."

"At her inn."

"Yes."

"Okay." Naoto starts walking again.

"It's _my_ dog." Chie practically shouts from behind her back.

"Alright," Naoto hears Chie scoff behind her and catch up, "So tell me about your dog."

It's early in the afternoon when they walk up to the Amagi Inn. Yukiko is standing behind the front desk talking to a maid. Naoto is still surprised how natural it looks, this 26-year old in a red kimono running an entire inn. And rather successfully, Chie had been sure to point out proudly.

"Naoto-kun! It's so good to see you." Yukiko rushes over and gives Naoto a hug. This one's not quite as tight as Chie's and Naoto softly hugs her back. She isn't sure when exactly she'd become this comfortable with physical contact, but she's glad she did.

Yukiko doesn't hug her for very long before whispering "Hi" to Chie and giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. Chie still seems rather uncomfortable with the public displays of affection and is quickly turning a bright red.

"You look good, Yukiko. How've you been?" Naoto asks before Chie has a chance to explode from embarrassment.

"I've been great. Except of course for the mutt."

"He's not that bad." Chie interjects.

"Not that bad?" Yukiko practically yells at Chie before turning back to Naoto and continuing in a calmer voice, "Did Chie tell you that we got a dog?"

"Yes, she did."

"Where is he, I can't see him outside?" Chie asks as she's looking out the windows.

"You know he's no longer allowed outside if neither of us is watching him."

"He needs to be outside. It's how he learns."

"He got into the hot springs yesterday, Chie."

"So?"

"There were guests in there, Chie." Every mention of Chie's name is slowly getting louder and Naoto wonders if she should leave the two to work out their parenting plan for the dog in private.

"Honestly, it's like he's obsessed. He tried to get in there again today."

"He likes the heat. So is he in there now?"

"What? Of course not, Chie," Yukiko is on the verge of yelling now and Naoto can hear two maids laugh upstairs, "He kept bothering the guests so I put him in our room."

"YOU LOCKED HIM UP?" Chie yells as she sprints past Naoto and up the stairs. The laughter upstairs is even louder now. From the sounds alone, Naoto can tell that in her hurry Chie must have knocked over at least one cart. A few seconds later the laughter gets joined by high-pitched barking.

"I'm here, Agimaru. You are saved." They can faintly hear Chie say as the barking gets even more energetic.

"Those two…" Yukiko shakes her head softly before turning back to Naoto, "So, would you like some tea?"

Five minutes later most of the peace has finally returned. The three of them are sitting around a table outside. The puppy is quietly dosing in Yukiko's lap. Chie is petting it with one hand and Naoto pretends not to notice that Chie's holding Yukiko's hand with the other one under the table.

"So, Rise left this morning?" Yukiko asks.

"Yes. Her plane should arrive in an hour or three."

"London. So cool. Have you ever been?"

"I have. When I was about twelve." Naoto answers, choosing not to mention it was because she had begged her grandfather to take her on the Sherlock Holmes Tour.

"Too bad you couldn't go with her, though."

"It's okay," Naoto says even though it wasn't entirely, "It's not like we get to spend much time together during production."

They're quiet for a moment. Chie stops petting Agimaru and turns her attention fully to the other two.

"So, she doesn't know yet, then? That you're here?"

"Rise? No. I couldn't call her on the plane. I'll try and reach her tonight."

Yukiko nods in understanding as she takes a sip from her tea.

"It's got to be a lot, right? First Hide and now this." She says after a few seconds.

"I suppose it might be hard for her, yes."

"Yes. But I also meant for you."

Naoto looks up confused.

"Well, it's… my job."

"Sure, but," Yukiko looks around like she's not sure how to put into words what she's thinking, "It's just all so close to you, is all."

"I suppose." It's a thought Naoto didn't like to focus on.

"So, do you think it's Adachi?" Yukiko asks after another pause.

"Adachi's in jail." Chie interrupts.

Agimaru suddenly jumps out of Yukiko's lap, apparently tired of being ignored.

"Maybe you should take him for a walk or something, Chie, before he's back off to…" Yukiko is interrupted by two loud barks and a sudden splash.

"Chie?!" Yukiko admonishes her as she gets up and rushes towards the hot springs. Chie just chuckles and leans back in her chair.

"What? It's your dog too." She mumbles.


	3. III Open Case

**III. Open Case**

Naoto is sitting at the small desk in her room at the Inn. Yukiko had insisted she'd stay there instead of at the Shirogane estate. "It's loads closer to the police station" she'd said, but Naoto knew it was because she'd wanted to make sure she wouldn't be lonely.

The first Skype call went unanswered, so Naoto had started on writing out an itinerary for the investigation tomorrow while attempting a second call.

"'ello Gov'nor!" Rise suddenly interrupts from Naoto's laptop screen. Without realising it, Naoto immediately breaks into a huge smile.

"Hi Rise. How was the flight?"

"Ugh, longgggg," Rise stretches her arms out above her head before sitting upright, "Wait. Where are you right now?"

So much for easing Rise into the news, Naoto supposes.

"I'm at the Amagi Inn."

"You're in Inaba? Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine. I'm here for a case."

"Oh?"

Suddenly Naoto wishes she had prepared some sort of script to tell Rise someone was recreating the horrors of their high school lives.

"It's, um, we don't know much yet but there's, ah, well, there's been a murder."

Rise's eyes go wide.

"Someone we know?"

"No," Naoto is quick to point out, "But, uh. She was a high schooler. Fifteen years old."

The same age Rise and she had been when they'd been thrown into the TV world.

"And she was found hanging from a-"

"From an antenna." Rise finishes the sentence. They're both quiet for a bit as Rise processes the information.

"So do you think it's a copycat?"

"That would be the most logical conclusion, considering Adachi is still in prison."

"Or someone else is pushing people into televisions."

"That seems unlikely."

"It happened before."

Rise's certainly right. Naoto stares at her pen for a bit.

"Hey, do you…. Do you need me to come back?"

Definitely not, if someone was in fact putting people back into the tv world, then London was probably the safest place for Rise to be.

"No, you don't have to," Naoto looks back up and sees that Rise isn't entirely convinced, "Anyway, you have to start filming tomorrow, right?"

Rise squints at Naoto for just one more second before allowing her to change the subject.

They don't sign off until after Rise makes Naoto promise that she won't go back into the Midnight Channel alone.

Yasogami High seems a lot smaller now that Naoto is no longer a student there. She's finishing a cup of tea just outside of its gates as she looks over her itinerary one more time. She'd already finished talking to Nishihara Asako's parents. They hadn't been able to tell her much and she decided not to spend too much time interrupting their grieving. Next up was the new principal at Yasogami High, a woman named Sunada Mie. Naoto takes one last sip of her tea before tossing the cup in a trash can and walking through the gates. It's a Tuesday and she can catch a few glimpses of bored students listening to lectures as she walks through the familiar hallways towards the principal's office.

"Ah, you must be Detective Shirogane." The door to the office is already open and the principal stands up to offer Naoto her hand. Principal Sunada is a small woman but still exudes a certain matronly authority.

"Principal Sunada, thank you for taking the time to meet with me."

"Of course, of course. Anything I can do to help. Quite the tragedy, I'm sure everyone involved is anxious to get some answers."

"Indeed," Naoto takes a seat across from the principal and takes out her notebook, "So I was wondering if there was anything you could tell me about Miss Nishihara."

"Yes. I did not come into contact with Nishihara too often myself. As a principal I mostly know the troublemakers. But I did talk to her teachers, so I'm sure I can offer some insight."

"So you would say that Nishihara wasn't in any trouble, that you knew off?"

"No. Not at all. She was a rather average student. Never skipped class, ran track after school, and I believe that in the weekends she worked at one of the daycares."

Naoto takes a few quick notes.

"And what about her friends?"

"It seems she didn't have too many. Most of the first year girls spend time together in groups. She was very close to two other students… what were their names again?"

Principal Sunada is rifling through a few papers looking for a list of students.

"Ah, yes, Miss Sada Honoka and Miss Koshikawa Mari. It appears they've been friends from a very young age but then after the accident they'd apparently been somewhat inseparable."

Naoto's interest is peaked.

"The accident?"

"Mhm. About four months ago. Four of our students had taken a car from one of their parents and gotten involved in a terrible crash."

"Four students? So that would be Miss Nishihara, Miss Sada, Miss Koshikawa and…?"

"Okano. Okano Hitomi. She'd been in the passenger's seat. She did not survive the accident, I'm afraid."

Naoto is scribbling down everything as fast as she can.

"The other two girls, they're both students here?"

"Yes. Though I think their teacher allowed them to stay home for a few days."

"Could I get their addresses?"

"Of course."

"And the fourth student, Hitomi, do her parents still live in Inaba?"

"Her father does, yes."

"Can I get his address as well?"

Naoto checks her phone as she's leaving the principal's office. A text from Rise:

 _English Breakfasts are insane. Expect me to be twice my size when I get back._

 _How's the case going? 3_

Naoto takes a quick detour to take a selfie in front of the door to their old classroom.

Seven hours later, Naoto is sitting at her usual table outside the Amagi Inn. She's organising all the notes she made while Agimaru pulls at the leg of her pants whenever she takes too long to throw his ball away for him.

"Are you sure you don't want me to get him away from you while you're working?" Chie asks worriedly.

"No, that's okay. My grandfather used to have a dog just like this one, actually, said he helped him crack all of his cases." Naoto throws the ball away again and Agimaru jumps more than necessary on his chase behind it.

"What was his name?" Yukiko asks from the other table. She's working on a seating chart for a wedding she's planning while Chie's playing a videogame.

"The dog's or my grandfather's?" Naoto asks with a smirk. Chie looks up from her screen with her mouth agape, 'Did the Detective Prince just make a joke?'.

Yukiko snorts.

"The dog."

"Inu."

"What?" Is Chie's sole interjection.

"Your grandfather named his dog Inu?" Yukiko asks.

"Yep."

For the next five minutes, Agimaru's barking is drowned out by the sound of Yukiko laughing.

Nishihara's friends, Sada Honoka and Koshikawa Mari, had been distraught. Not surprising, considering this was the second friend they'd lost in less than four months. They'd told Naoto the same thing as the principal had: That Nishihara was a very typical teenager. It seemed unlikely she'd owed anyone a large amount of money, or that she would somehow be involved in a drug-related crime.

The naughtiest thing any of them had ever done was borrow the car from Sada's parents without asking. Sada Honoka had lost her right leg when she lost control of the vehicle and they'd crashed into a telephone pole. And they'd all lost a friend. Okano Hitomi.

Naoto had gone over to Okano's father, Okano Shiro, as well. He had lost a daughter and she couldn't rule out that he might harbour some anger towards the other girls. Maybe Nishihara had been the one to instigate the joyride. However, when she arrived at his house he had seemed genuinely upset by her death. Though she made sure to never blindly trust her gut on these matters, he had seemed sincere when he told her he had always considered Nishihara as his own daughter, showing him pictures of the two girls together. It was him that got her a job at the daycare where his younger daughter went. He'd called his younger daughter over then and for a few moments Naoto had taught she was looking at a clone of Nanako.

"What's your name?" She'd asked. But the girl was just as shy as Nanako had first been.

"Her name's Kotone. In fact, it was big sis that chose that name for you, right?" Haromi looked tired.

"Koto." The girl confirmed, softly nodding her head.

After she left, Naoto kept thinking about Nanako. She'd be around the same age as the four girls from the crash now. Maybe she should have asked Principal Sunada if Nanako had been friends with any of them.

Now, as she watches Yukiko come out of her laughing fit while Chie's chasing around their puppy, Naoto can't help but feel very worried for Nanako.

Her phone vibrates on the table and Naoto gladly welcomes the distraction.

 _On a break. Wanna chat?_

It doesn't take long for Naoto to answer.

 _Yes. I'll call you in a minute._

Almost immediately she gets another text.

 _Wait! RU with dog now?_

Naoto smiles at her screen. Before she heads upstairs to make her Skype call, she has all three of them pose with the dog.

"That is the cutest dog I have seen in my life." Rise says as soon as the Skype call comes through.

"He is pretty cute." Naoto confirms.

"We should get a dog."

"I'm not sure if that's the best idea."

"Wha?!" Rise feigns shock.

"Like right now. If we had a dog then where would he be right now?"

"He'd be with you, obviously. He'd help you look for clues." Rise's not sitting behind her laptop, instead she is moving back and forward through her hotelroom changing her outfit.

"Right." Naoto's getting distracted. Rise's just taken her shirt off in favor of a loose top. She notices Naoto's vague response and shoots her a sly wink before rifling through her luggage looking for something.

"We could get him a miniature version of your cap. Or a tiny police uniform." She finds the bag she was looking for and is choosing between a few bracelets.

"Are you going somewhere?"

"Yeah. I don't have to be on set until nighttime so me and a few of the crew are going sightseeing."

"You mean shopping." Naoto teases. She'd made a few trips with Rise before. Rise scoffs.

"No, actually. We're doing this guided tour thing of all the monuments."

"That sounds nice. Do you have to go soon?"

"Sort of. I think we're leaving in five minutes. So how's your day been?"

"It's been alright."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"There's not much to tell, I think. I've just been interviewing people all day."

"Anyone _suspicious_?"

Naoto laughs softly.

"No. No one _suspicious_. In fact, I don't really have any leads to go on at all."

"Oh. That sucks. I'm sure something will turn up soon."

"I hope so."

Rise is quiet for a bit as she pulls at a bracelet.

"This kinda sucks, right?" She says softly.

"What does?"

"Just. This. Me being all the way over here. And you over there."

"Yes."

Rise sighs.

"Well, it's just a month, right? I'll be back in no time."

"Right."

A smile reappears on Rise's face.

"Okay. I've gotta go. Talk to you tomorrow?"

"Yes. Have fun."

"Always. I love y-"

Rise gets interrupted by a loud noise like static coming from the speaker of Naoto's laptop. The screen freezes before turning off completely.

Naoto is left staring at her reflection on the black screen. She closes it and the sound of static lessens but is not gone completely yet. She takes her phone out of her pocket. It's emitting the same noise. She opens it's case and takes out the battery and the sound stops. The room is entirely quiet now. She puts the battery back in and turns her phone on. This time it remains quiet.

The hairs on Naoto's neck go up suddenly when she realises the room is way darker than it should be. The only light is coming from the lamps on the desk and the nightstand. She checks the clock: around 8 p.m., it shouldn't be dark outside for a while yet. Naoto turns towards the window and takes a step back when she sees it's completely black like her laptop screen had been.

She takes a few steps forward, seeing her reflection grow with each step closer. When she stops in front of it, she takes a few deep breaths before stretching out an arm and touching the glass pane.

It doesn't feel like it should. It's cold and smooth and slippery. Before she knows it, her fingers dip through to the other side. It feels similar to going into the TV, but she had never heard of anyone going into the Midnight Channel through anything other than a television set. She pulls her hand back and examines her fingers. They feel cool but there's nothing seemingly wrong with them. She turns back towards the window in time to see that her reflection isn't matching her movements. She leans in closer, studying the mirrored figure. Was it… taller than she was? Naoto stretches her right arm to the side, over her head and back. The figure does not copy the movement. Naoto tries it with her left arm. The figure leans it's head to the side. Naoto leans her head as well before taking one more step closer to the glass, her nose almost touching it now.

She considers pushing her hand through the glass once more when suddenly two arms reach out from behind the window and pull at her shoulders. Her entire body is dragged through the window and all Naoto can feel is cold. She can't see anything in the pitch black darkness around her. The sound of static is back and deafening. She spins around to see a window looking into the room she had just been in.

Was she in the Midnight Channel?

The shadow world had never been dark or particularly cold. Naoto wraps her arms around herself to try and keep warm.

"You will find nothing but pain on this path." What sounds like multiple voices speaking in unisono come through the static. Naoto spins around to try and find the source.

"Who are you?"

"Interfering is a mistake. Let it take its course. It will all be over soon."

Naoto takes a few steps forward, but it's hard to pinpoint where the voice is coming from.

"Who are you?" Naoto asks again, louder.

"We do not mean harm to your world. We only wish to be part of it."

"Are you the ones that killed Nishihara?"

"She was unfit."

"Unfit for what?" Naoto runs around the window, but there is nothing there but more darkness.

"Enough. Leave."

"Show yourselves!" Naoto runs back to the front of the window and starts to blindly rush forward. "What did you do to Nishihara?" She keeps shouting questions so she can locate whoever's speaking but the voices no longer answer.

"Are you working together with Tohru Adachi?"

Her question is finally answered by a volt of laughter. To her right. Naoto sprints off in its direction.

"Adachi was a fool." A single female voice suddenly says. It sounds incredibly close. From the corner of her eyes Naoto can see a faint red glow and she heads towards it.

"We caught him, and we'll catch you as well."

"Unlikely." A man's voice answers. Naoto finally comes to a stop in front of a strange red mist. In the middle of it she can see the tall figure from the window.

"This is your final warning." The voices all come together at once again.

"You can't scare me off that easily."

"So be it." The voices turn more threatening. Something shoots out of the mist suddenly. Naoto hisses and holds her arm up, the blood from three deep cuts already starts to seep through the white fabric of her shirt. She looks up to see that the misty figure has switched positions and is standing behind her now. It rushes again too fast for Naoto to do something. She loses her footing and falls over backwards.

"Your investigation is over, Detective Prince." One of the voices says. The figure jumps towards her.

"Sukuna-Hikona!" Naoto yells as she feels the familiar burst of strength come out of her chest in a strong gust of wind. Naoto's hand crackles with powerful light that cuts through the mist. The figure hisses at her before it is hit by another of her Persona's light attacks. Naoto scrambles back on her feet, just in time to see the figure disappear back into the darkness as the sound of static lessens. Naoto takes a few steps in the direction it went but she knows she won't find it again. After a few moments to get her bearings, she starts back towards the feint light of the window she'd come through.

When she finally reaches it, she doesn't take much time to overthink it before vaulting over the edge and landing back at the Amagi Inn.

Her phone is ringing.

"Rise."

"Hey. I think my internet dropped out for a minute or something there. I lost you."

Naoto turns back to the window. She can see the trees outside and can hear the noises of people bathing and talking. As if nothing had happened.

"Naoto? Are you alright."

Naoto stares at the cuts on her arm.

"No. Not really."


	4. IV Usual Suspects

**IV. Usual Suspects**

"Wait, so they dragged you into the Midnight Channel?" Yukiko asks, voice dripping with concern, while she's tending to the cuts on Naoto's arm.

"Hm. I'm not sure. We never went in there through anything other than television screens. And the place felt… different." Naoto searches her mind for the right words to describe the darkness of the place she'd been pulled into.

"That's it. I'm calling the boys." Chie says resolutely, jumping to her feet and slamming her hands on the counter before leaving Naoto and Yukiko alone in the bathroom. Naoto briefly considers protesting but Chie's already too far away.

"Were they alone?" Yukiko's voice calls Naoto's attention again.

"I think so. I only saw one figure."

"Human?"

"It didn't seem like it. They were too fast. And they could change their voice. Sometimes it sounded like there were more than ten people talking at once."

"Strange." Yukiko says in a way that makes it sound more like she wants to say 'scary'. Chie walks back into the bathroom, throwing her phone on the counter. Yukiko finishes applying a bandage and washes her hands.

"The boys are coming over tomorrow. We're having lunch at Aiya."

"Any excuse, right?" Yukiko teases Chie softly. Chie ignores her.

"Figure it's best we crowdsource this thing. And considering we are all basically experts on weird supernatural places… Anyway. You can sleep in our room tonight. And Yukiko and I will take turns to watch the windows in case they come back and-"

"Chie. No. It's fine," Naoto interrupts, "I think whoever killed Nishihara just wanted to scare me off. I doubt they'll come back before they realise I'm still on the case."

Chie is entirely unconvinced and it takes the better part of the rest of the evening to convince her to let Naoto sleep in her own room.

When the trio arrives at Aiya the next day, Yosuke, Kanji and Teddie are already there. As soon as he spots her, Kanji jumps up and pulls Naoto into a tight hug.

"Are you okay. Did those bastards hurt you?"

"I'm fine," Naoto answers muffled through Kanji's jacket, "Please stop choking me." Kanji lets her breathe as he holds her an arms length away and studies every inch of her body. Naoto feels a blush coming on her cheeks under the scrutiny.

"Hey cut it out, Kanji," Yosuke yells from their table, "Why don't we let her sit down before the interrogating?" Kanji concedes and flops back down next to Yosuke.

"You didn't have to close the restaurant to come here, did you?" Naoto asks Kanji. He'd opened a restaurant with his girlfriend just a few years before.

"No, it's cool. Aika's looking after the place. We don't get many people for lunch anyway."

"That's because your hot bartender doesn't start his shifts until seven." Yosuke says confidently, shooting him a smile he must have thought was charming but only results in a loud snort from Chie. The group falls back into their familiar banter while Naoto glances at her phone. Another worried message from Rise. She opens it only half listening to her friends.

"Yeah. That's the only reason we hired you. Not like you know how to make any cocktails."

"Excuse you! I have read two books on mixology. I am practically a master at my craft."

"Oh yeah? Quick: What's in a gin and tonic?"

"It… there's… uh…"

 _Anything happen?_

"You can't seriously be this stupid, Yosuke."

"I'm starting to doubt the man can even read."

 _Nothing new. At Aiya with everyone. Shouldn't you be sleeping?_

"I'll show you reading. Teddie, hand me that menu."

"Yosuke, quick: What's in a vodka cranberry?"

"Will you lay off, Satonaka!"

 _Say hi for me._

 _I will. Now sleep._

 _Fine. Frequent updates please. 3_

"Rise says hi." Naoto finally ends the bickering.

"Man. Sucks she is gone right when this stuff's happening again, yeah?" Yosuke says while he's glancing at his phone. No doubt looking up cocktail recipes, Naoto assumes.

"Honestly. I'm kinda glad she's away right now. She's safe in London."

"She'd be safe with you too, Naoto." Teddie says, beaming.

"Yeah. The whole gang together again, kicking Shadow ass in the Midnight Channel." Kanji says a little too loudly raising his fist.

"It's not the Midnight Channel, dummy." Chie says.

"And we're missing Souji as well." Yukiko adds. The table falls silent for a moment.

"Did anyone tell Souji yet?" Yosuke asks.

"I told him about the case, yes." Naoto answers.

"But not about last night?" Yosuke's already starting to compose a message on his phone.

"Souji is halfway across the country. I don't want to worry him needlessly because he'd-"

"Because he'd come. The old Investigation Team together again!" Teddie is almost jittering with excitement.

"We don't know nearly enough about what's going on here yet. I don't want any of you to be put in danger. It's my case. I'll handle it."

"It's not just an average case though, is it?" Yosuke is still tapping away, "Midnight Channel or not, you fought that thing off with your Persona. So if we can use our Personas in the… wherever that was, we can fight it. All of us." He sends the message.

"I agree. Like it or not, Naoto, we're in it as well." Yukiko adds.

"Alright." Naoto can't help but smile. As dangerous as it had been to beat Tohru Adachi, they'd done it. All eight of them together. Maybe they could do it again this time.

Yosuke's phone rings.

"Hey, Souji."

They spent the rest of their lunch going over the few things Naoto had discovered. Their first step was to check out the Midnight Channel.

"To Junes!" Teddy shouted before Yukiko reminded him there was a much smaller chance of them being caught going in through one of the televisions at the inn.

Naoto was proven right. The Midnight Channel was unchanged and nothing like the place she'd been in the day before. Back in Inaba, they'd decided to wait for another break in the case. Or as Yosuke had put it "Let's let Naoto detective it out first." They'd said their goodbyes as the guys got in Yosuke's car to drive back to Okina City.

"Call if anything comes up, yeah?" Kanji had forgone the bearhug for a pat on Naoto's shoulder.

"I will. Thanks Kanji."

Naoto walks into the Inaba police station just a few minutes later. She's greeted almost immediately by Dojima.

"Shirogane. Lab came back with the results for that ema we found with the body." He hands her a beige folder and a plastic bag holding the white plaque. She glances at the first page in the folder.

"Human bone?" She notes out loud.

"And that's not all. It's Nishihara's."

Naoto flips to the next page, a copy of the autopsy report. The plaque was made out of one of Nishihara Asako's ribs, though there were no signs or surgical marks on her body.

"Did this happen before or after she died."

"They can't tell. And there's nothing else to be found on the thing." He points at the ema. Naoto looks closer at it.

"Hmm. Mind if I keep this for a while?"

"Of course."

"Anything else?"

"Nothing yet. I'll keep you posted."

With that, Dojima goes back to his desk and Naoto walks over to her temporary office. She drops off the folder and looks over her notes for a few seconds before her attention goes back to the ema. She can't shake the feeling there's something about it that will help her with the investigation. She puts on a pair of plastic gloves, slides it out of the bag, and studies it for a few moments. There's nothing particularly strange about the item, apart from it's material. The carving of the nine-tailed fox isn't necessarily a standard image to put on an ema, but she has no idea what it might mean. And the word 'wish' can be found on dozens of ema.

Stumped and out of leads, Naoto leaves the station and heads for Inaba's shrine.

There's no one else around as she walks up to the shrine. She'd come here a few times with Rise during their hiatus. Naoto had enjoyed the quiet peacefulness of the place. Rise had enjoyed talking to the people who came to pray or make wishes. Naoto pulls out her phone to type out an update for her girlfriend.

 _Investigation Team is back together. No stopping them._

To her left, she can spot the board where visitors can hang their ema. There are a few. She types out a second message before putting her phone back in her pocket.

 _I miss you._

She holds up the bag with the ema made of bone and compares it to the others. They are all made of wood. Some a bit more fancy than others. It appears the locals can buy a specific type of ema nearby that's rather popular. A basic rectangle with a flower painted on one side, and space for writing on the other. Others have pictures of birds, tigers, and one has a detailed portret on it. She stares at the bone ema again, as if the act of scrutiny alone will be enough to change the writing into a clue. It isn't. Naoto sighs and takes her phone back out of her pocket. No message from Rise, but she is probably filming at the moment. Naoto sees something move from the corner of her eye and looks up from the screen. A small red fox has taken place next to the board she was just studying. For a second she assumes it's the same fox that had helped out her friends all those years ago. Closer inspection proves her wrong. This fox is smaller and a brighter shade of orange. It has none of the scars the other fox had. She wonders if they're family.

"Hey buddy." She says. The animal has its eyes focused on Naoto. It doesn't seem too threatened. Naoto drops down on her heels to study the animal more closely.

"Do you live here?" The fox turns its head and looks at her quizzically for a moment. Naoto holds out the ema.

"Do you know what this means?" She asks. The fox looks at the item briefly before resuming its focus on Naoto. "Me neither." Naoto mumbles.

"Cute fox!" A child's voice sounds from behind her back. She turns around to see Okano Shiro, the father of the girl who died in the car crash four months ago, and his daughter Kotone walk up to the shrine.

"Good afternoon, detective." The man says with a kind smile. His daughter runs toward the fox startling it. The animal sets off fast toward the nearby bushes as the girl chases it.

"Good afternoon, mister Okano."

"Lovely day, isn't it?" He tries to make smalltalk as the two of them watch Kotone search through the green for a sign of the fox. Naoto hums in agreement.

"Any luck on your case yet?"

"We're working on it." Naoto hopes he won't push her for any details. That would make him look suspicious.

"Good. Koto, come back honey." He yells at his daughter who walks over a few seconds later, grabbing her father's hand and attempting to hide behind him. "Koto and I come here every week." Naoto sees the girl nod slightly in agreement.

"That's nice." She's not sure why he is telling her this.

"Here, Koto." He hands the little girl an ema and she goes over to the board to hang it up. Naoto tries to study it. Wood painted white, no pictures on it, only writing. She can't quite make it out.

"A wish. For Nishihara's parents," Okano Shiro explains unprompted, "Losing a daughter is a terrible thing. I can only pray that they can find happiness again in their life. It took me a while, you know. After losing Hitomi. But over time you do gain the strength to go on again."

Naoto doesn't know how to respond. She just nods. They stand quietly next to each other for a few moments as they watch the little girl who keeps getting distracted from her task looking at the bushes for a sign of the fox.

"I'm sure Mr and Mrs Nishihara appreciate the support." Naoto finally says. It's not what she wanted to say. She can't offer him any consolidation for the loss of his own daughter, and now the loss of another girl. Shiro looks at her then, and smiles warmly, as if he knew what she wanted to say anyway.

"I'll leave you two to it. Have a nice day, mister Okano."

"You as well, detective." He says as he walks over to help his daughter.


End file.
